This invention relates, in general, to starting gates and, more particularly, to starting gates used for horse races.
Horse races are typically run on an oval shaped track having a start line and a finish line. Prior to starting the race, a starting gate is positioned at the start line and the horses are placed in the stalls of the starting gate. The race is started by simultaneously opening the front doors of each individual stall, thereby releasing the horses so they can race around the track. The starting gate is moved away from the track immediately after the race has begun to prevent it from impeding the horses as they run around the track. Chamberlain teaches in U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,116 an in-motion starting gate having individual doors that are opened using hydraulic cylinders coupled to the individual doors. Georgette et al. teach in U.S. Pat. No. 2,808,026 opening the doors by using an electromagnet mounted to each individual door. The starting gates in these patents use many parts or components to open the individual doors. As those skilled in the art are aware, the greater the number of components, the greater the likelihood of at least one of the components failing. A common occurrence with some starting gates is gate failure where one of the front doors either fails, allowing a horse to xe2x80x9cleak outxe2x80x9d of the starting gate, or does not open, holding one horse in the stall. Along similar lines, one door may open more slowly than the others, either putting the horse and rider in that gate at a disadvantage or more often causing the race to be nullified. Because of the large sums of money wagered on individual races, unreliable starting gates negatively impact the profits of both the race track operators, the starting gate owners, and the horse owners.
Accordingly, what is needed is a safe, low cost, reliable starting gate.
The present invention satisfies the foregoing need by providing a cost efficient, reliable starting gate. In one aspect of the present invention, the starting gate comprises subassemblies that are manufactured to predetermined dimensions with controlled tolerances, wherein the subassemblies are interchangeable. In one embodiment the subassemblies include a truss module, a door release module coupled to the truss module, a stall divider module coupled to the truss module, a front door coupled to the stall divider module, and a rebound stop having a first portion coupled to the front door and a second portion coupled to the stall divider module, the first portion having first member for frictionally engaging the second portion. In another aspect, the starting gate comprises a horse stall having a first set of doors coupled to one end of the horse stall and a second set of doors coupled to the opposite end of the horse stall. A mechanism for opening the first set of stalls is coupled to the horse stall wherein the mechanism includes a roll-bar coupled to the horse stall via a plurality of bearings. The roll-bar has a first section coupled to a second section by a U-joint, wherein said roll-bar spans at most two bearings without a U-joint, a means for rotating the roll-bar coupled to the horse stall, an articulated member extending from the roll-bar; and a coupling bar coupled to the articulated member.